Respected French sports paper L’Equpe have claimed that Celtic turned down a £40m bid from Chelsea for Moussa Dembele.
Late on Monday afternoon Sky Sports broke the story that Chelsea had enquired about the availability of the Celtic striker.
Brendan Rodgers has been adamant that Dembele is not for sale with the prospect cropping up on a fortnightly basis since the striker burst onto the scene.
Moussa Dembélé reste au Celtic Glasgow https://t.co/4JdaNeTpw9 pic.twitter.com/dulaj0n0wJ
— L’ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) January 31, 2017
A hat-trick against Sevco followed by a double against Manchester City put the spotlight onto the Celtic striker with clubs curious about the rapid development of a £500,000 summer signing from Fulham.
Dembele and his agent made it clear that they wanted the chance to play in the Champions League when he moved to Glasgow on a four year contract.
Reports of a £20m bid from West Ham were laughed off at the start of the transfer window but if L’Equipe is correct about Celtic turning down a bid of £40m it puts a whole new complexion on the matter.